Stephen Brandman Discusses the "Minestrone Soup" of Thompson's Success
So, turns out Stephen Brandman -- co-owner of Thompson Hotels and the "design vision" behind the boutique group's swanky properties -- not only has an eye for design, but he's also quite a suave, quotable gentleman as well.
We came across an interview in Interior Design magazine and noticed that Brandman answers questions with the same brand of smoothness he pulls off in his hotels. Example: when asked what he brought to the Thompson tesm, he simply said, "I resolve the struggle between beauty and functionality." Also, design is only "one among many ingredients in the minestrone soup of [Thompson's] success."
We pulled some fun facts out of the article, too. Like, do you know why pools are such a big deal to Thompsons?
We're trying to add art to the landscape of our hotels, and our pools are a unique medium to do that. Inspiration came from the David Hockney pool at the Hollywood Roosevelt. Art is basically another way to distinguish our properties.
Also, we're happy to know that Brandman is looking more toward longevity and lasting power of his designs, rather than emphasizing a trendy, right-now wow factor that has the potential to end up dated and "over" in the span of a few short years. He believes Thompson properties will "burn long, not just bright" -- and we hope he's right, because frankly our little hearts wouldn't be able to handle the amount of delays and false-starts that might come with a redesign or major renovation on any of these properties somewhere down the line.
As for what's next for Thompson Hotels? World domination, obviously:
We're looking outside North America, to Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Costa Rica. There's a property in London, too. Also resorts. Actually, we already look at our hotels like little resorts--there's no reason to leave the compound.
No reason to leave... unless you're at the Thompson LES, in which case you need to leave the premises (for now) for food and booze.
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